Being Over Doing

A Reflection on the Deceiving Allure of Getting Stuff Done!

Mondays are the busiest days of the week for me. I jokingly refer to them as "meeting-palooza" because they are typically filled with meetings that last for about four hours. To tackle this, I make it a point to arrive early and accomplish tasks that are important to me, such as engaging in a morning devotional, recording a video, or writing an article. These activities fuel my soul, and completing one or two of them in the morning sets the tone for a great day.

This morning, my plan was to go to work, spend an hour devoting myself to God, and then record a Daily Devotional and a short story for my new podcast.

I arrived at work around 7:30 am, with plenty of time to engage in all those activities before the staff meeting at 9:10 am. However, my ambition to grow and succeed led me astray.

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What do I mean by being led astray?

Well, I'm really excited about my new podcast. I probably shouldn't have started it because I'm already stretched too thin. The podcast is called "One More Story with Meshach Kanyion." If you've listened to my sermons, you'll know that towards the end of a particularly long sermon, I usually inform the church that I'm "landing the plane" by saying, "One more story."

Over the years, I've accumulated numerous stories, and I wanted a way to share them without having to wait for a preaching opportunity. Hence, the idea for the new podcast.

But I digress.

My eagerness to post enough content on the podcast to start sharing it publicly made me think, "Let me record the story first, then I can devote the remaining hour and some minutes to God."

So, that's what I did. I sat down, pressed record, and IMMEDIATELY the stutter bug took hold of my tongue. These stories I'm sharing are only 2-3 minutes long, and although I'm not a pro, I usually speak well enough to knock an episode out in one or two takes.

However, after 35 minutes, frustration, annoyance, and anger started to consume me. It seemed like nothing was working in my favor at all! At one point I even thought, too my shame, "Another ambulance!?"

That's when I remembered something that I've preached and advised people to do on many occasions: "prioritize being over doing, and let your doing flow from your being in union with God." This means that when given the opportunity to either start the day with prayer or dive into emails, prayer should always be the first choice.

Martin Luther famously said, "I am so busy now that if I did not spend three hours each day in prayer, I could not get through the day."

Sometimes, the desire to succeed or the excitement of creating something new is so alluring that it blinds me to the truth that "in Him I live, and move, and have my being." Therefore, my real success and joy comes from being with Him, not creating things, even things that are for Him.

By the time I remembered this, it was already 8:30 am, so I had about 30 minutes to pray. So I went outside to pray as I walked around the church.

I did not get to record that story today, but something wonderful happened later on. I was reminded of a quote that perfectly suits the story! So when I get around to recording it, I will be happier with the end result. I wonder if I spent the beginning of my day with day, that idea would’ve come earlier.

Maybe, maybe not. But tomorrow morning, I know how I’m starting my day.

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." — Jesus, Matthew 6:33